Alabama Injury Attorneys Blog

Kevin Boykins, 26, of Ensley died this past Saturday at UAB Hospital after injuries sustained from a fuel-fed auto accident. Boykins was driving a 1993 Ford Crown Victoria on the night of December 19, 2010 when his vehicle was struck from behind by a 2009 Nissan Quest driven by Zenardo Marshall. Upon impact the 1993 Ford Crown Victoria ignited into flames engulfing both Boykin and another companion.

The crash occurred around 1 a.m. at Interstate 65 and University Boulevard. Boykins was severely burned from the accident and was attended to by the Burn and Trauma Department at UAB Hospital.

According to the personal injury attorneys representing Boykin, the fuel system and gas tank failed and caused large amounts of gasoline to spill out and ignite the vehicle. Boykins attorney filed a lawsuit on January 11, 2011 citing both Ford Motors and Zenardo Marshall responsible for the fuel-fed accident.

Ford has denied all allegations in this lawsuit. However, in the early 1990's Ford faced a number of lawsuits about the fuel systems in the Crown Victoria models. In 2002, Hoover, AL was among three dozen cities that filed lawsuits against the motor company claiming flaws in the fuel system increased the risk of fatal fires when the Crown Victoria was struck from behind. After the lawsuit, Ford eventually declared they would no longer sell police cars to the City of Hoover.

Law enforcement is still investigating the circumstances surrounding that crash.

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Burlington Basket Company has recalled some 500,000 bassinets for potential fall hazards to infant children. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) if the Burlington Bassinet if not locked into position properly can cause infants to fall to the floor and suffer injuries.

The CPSC and Burlington Basket Company have received 10 reports of incidents of which two minor baby injuries were reported: a bruised shoulder and a bruise to the top of the head. The baby bassinet recall involves all Burlington Bassinets manufactured before June 2010. The recall is aimed to prevent any potential child injuries or child deaths. The bassinets were manufactured in the United States and sold to mass retailers, including Wal-Mart and major department stores across the country.

The company and CPSC have urged parents to stop using the bassinets immediately until they are certain the support rails are locked and secured. The company, based out of Iowa, has offered a video showing how to correctly repair the bassinet. Consumers can also contact Burlington Basket Company for a free repair kit at 1-800-553-2300.

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A Jefferson County Jury awarded a Birmingham, Alabama family $3 million on Friday afternoon in the wrongful death of their son, LaBoyish Catlin.

LaBoyish Catlin, 37, died in January of 2006 a few days after having a duodenal ulcer repaired. The wrongful death lawsuit, filed by Personal Injury Attorney Ken Riley, on behalf of the Catlin family claimed negligence and improper surgery lead to Catlin's death. Riley said LaBoyish, better known as Wayne to his friends and family, required multiple blood transfusions post-operatively and later died at home after having been released from Baptist Princeton Hospital.

The autopsy report stated that Catlin bleed to death. Catlin was not properly examined by the attending physician before being sent home with a very low blood count. The wrongful death lawsuit cited "Exsanguination in the artery" as the cause of death.

Riley and co-counsel, Shay Samples, believe Baptist Health will file an appeal. Most large jury verdicts, particularly medical malpractice verdicts, are usually reviewed by the Alabama Supreme Court. Medical Malpractice cases are extremely difficult to win in Alabama, with "doctors and hospitals usually [winning] about 90 percent of cases."

The trial lasted two weeks and ended last Friday. Ken Riley, lead counsel from the law firm Farris, Riley & Pitt, said it took the Jefferson County Circuit Court about three hours before returning a $3 million wrongful death verdict.

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A Jefferson County jury has awarded a Birmingham, Alabama family $2.4 million after the death of their two-year-old child.

The wrongful death lawsuit was initially filed in 2007, after two-year-old Adrian Christian accidently died from a methadone overdose. Christian was spending the night with his aunt and uncle, Walter and Christine Gaines, on the weekend of May 19th when the couple became concerned that Adrian had swallowed a methadone tablet.

The aunt, who suffers from chronic pain due to sickle cell anemia, was taking the narcotic to ease her pain.

The couple rushed Adrian to the emergency room where Adrian was monitored for several hours for signs of methadone poisoning. At 2:30 a.m. the Birmingham hospital released the boy who was later rushed back at 6:00 a.m. after he was found not breathing. Adrian was pronounced dead at 6:30 a.m.

The Birmingham Personal Injury Attorney representing Latoya Gaines, the mother of the Adrian Christian, contented the emergency room should have kept him longer and performed more tests. However the emergency room physician on-call stated he did everything he was trained to do.

The wrongful death lawsuit took the Jefferson County jury one week before returning a punitive damage award in favor of the mother, Latoya Gaines.

The parents of 40-year-old Jennifer McCoun have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Adventure Center Skydiving alleging the company caused her untimely death on January 31st, 2009.

McCoun was the president and CEO of the Tulare Chamber of Commerce before her death.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County alleges that the skydiving company, Adventure Center Skydiving, gave McCoun a defective parachute that after opening caused her to slam into the ground. Apparently the Velcro failed to hold the steering handles in place and therefore caused the parachute to spin in tight turns after it opened.

According to reports, McCoun survived the fall. Her mother, Marilyn McCoun, released a statement saying, "she actually lived for three hours." however, because the skydiving company failed to contact Jennifer McCoun's emergency contact numbers, her parents didn't get to the hospital until after she died.

The skydiving accident occurred around 2:30 p.m. Marilyn McCoun tried reaching her daughter on her cell phone and got no answer. Then she called the skydiving business around 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. only to find out that Jennifer McCoun had been airlifted to nearby Santa Clara Valley Medical Center after the accident.

When McCoun's parents arrived at the hospital, they were told she had been briefly revived but a broken rib had torn her aorta.

The personal injury attorney representing the McCouns said this accident probably would not have happened had the worn out Velcro been replaced. Experts for the plaintiff believe the accident occurred because of "poor maintenance" of the parachute. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the parachute packers were allowed to drink beer and smoke marijuana while performing their jobs.

McCoun was listed as an inexperienced jumper and chose the skydiving facility because of their safety record. When in actuality the company had two fatalities, one in 2001 and another in 2002. Both of which they failed to disclose in their advertising.

McCoun's parents are seeking and unspecified amount of damages for "wrongful death, fraud and emotional distress."

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Dick's Sporting Goods has reached a tentative settlement agreement with their current and former employees over unpaid overtime.

After being approved in federal court, the $15 million settlement will be paid to thousands of employees across 22 states.

The overtime violation class action alleged that Dick's ordered employees to work though their scheduled breaks and required them to work more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay.

Dick's Sporting Goods currently has a total of 437 stores in over 42 states.

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A jury awarded more that $49 million in a lawsuit that killed one man and left another paralyzed.

Last week, a Ventura County jury award Anthony Pedeferri, a California Patrol Officer, and his wife $39 million for paralyzing injuries Pedeferri sustained after a drunk driving crash. Pedeferri had pulled over Andres Parra when a drunk-driver slammed into them, killing Parra and leaving Pedeferri a quadriplegic.

The jury awarded Parra's parents $10.2 million for the loss of their son.

The drunk-driver plead guilty to driving while intoxicated and transportation of marijuana. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison backing 2008.

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